Question

How would you describe the Himalayas 40 million years ago?

Answer 1

Hint: It is a mountain range in South and East Asia. The range contains many of the world's highest peaks. It includes more than 50 mountains with elevations exceeding 7200 meters.

Complete answer:
When two giant landmasses, India and Eurasia, collided due to plate movement, the massive mountain range formed between 40 and 50 million years ago. Because the rock densities of these two continental landmasses are nearly identical, neither plate could be subducted beneath the other. Only by thrusting skyward, contorting the collision zone, and forming the jagged Himalayan peaks could the impinging plates be relieved of their pressure. India was a huge island about 225 million years ago, still off the coast of Australia, separated from the Asian continent by a giant ocean.

Additional information:
Features of Himalayas are:
- They are folded mountains.
- They run along India's northern border and form a 2400 kilometer long arc.
- Their width is up to 150 kilometers in Arunachal Pradesh and 400 kilometers in Kashmir.
- They are the highest and the most rugged mountains in the world.
- Himalayas have soaring heights, steep-sided jagged peaks, valleys and alpine glaciers.

Note:
- The Himalayan range is one of the world’s newest and youngest mountain ranges, consisting primarily of uplifted sedimentary and metamorphic rock.
- Climate, rainfall, altitude and soils all influence the flora and fauna of the Himalayas.
- At the lowest elevations, the climate is tropical, while at the highest elevations, permanent ice and snow exist.